WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CAPTURES SIXTH STRAIGHT GNAC TITLE WITH 68-57 VICTORY OVER ST. JOSEPH'S

BOSTON, Mass. - Junior forward Fiona
O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) netted a game-high 24 points and
senior guard Meghan
Kirwan(Melrose, Mass.) added 20 points to propel the Emmanuel
College women's basketball team to a 68-57 victory over Saint
Joseph's College (ME) in the 2012 Great Northeast Athletic
Conference Championship at the Jean Yawkey Center Saturday
afternoon. With the victory, the Saints improve to 22-6 on the year
to capture their sixth consecutive and 14th overall GNAC title
while the loss drops the Monks to 20-8 on the season.

With the score deadlocked at 34-34 at the half, Emmanuel came
out of the gates in the second frame on a quick 4-0 spurt as
O'Dwyer netted a pair of buckets to bump the Saints ahead 38-34
with 18:44 left in the action. Senior center Ashely Geel (St.
George, Maine) made sure to stop any chance of a big run, demanding
the ball in the low post for the Monks following O'Dwyer's second
hoop. Geel used an aggressive low post move to spin to the block
for an easy layup to get Saint Joseph's back within a hoop at
38-36.

And old fashion three-point play by Kirwan followed by a jumper
by sophomore center Victoria
Johnson(Syracuse, N.Y.) gave the Saints a seven point cushion
at 45-38 with 15:28 remaining but the Monks responded following a
timeout with four straight points on layups by junior forward
Alyssa Grigware (Biddeford, Maine) and junior guard Danyelle
Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) to make it a one-possession game (45-42) with
just under 15 minutes left in the contest.

A three by Saints junior guard Laura
Benvenuto (Wycoff, N.J.) at the 13:12 mark gave EC a 50-44
advantage before the Monks went on a 7-2 run capped by an and-one
layup and free throw by sophomore guard Abby Young (North Yarmouth,
Maine) to pull the Monks to within a point at 52-51 with 7:36 left
on the clock. Unfortunately for Saint Joseph's, it would be the
closest they'd come the remaining of the game as Emmanuel answered
with a 6-0 spurt of its own sealed with a jumper from inside the
paint by freshman forward Lena
Negri(Arlington, Va.) to make it 58-51 at the 4:30 mark.

On the ensuing possession, Geel was able to convert a jumper to
make it a five-point game (58-53) but two more O'Dwyer jumpers
increased the Saints lead to nine points (62-53) with under three
minutes left in regulation.

With under two minutes remaining, Saint Joseph's sophomore
forward Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) and Kirwan would each hit
one of two free throws on alternating possessions to account for
the 63-54 score with just 1:20 remaining in the championship.

Kirwan notched two more free throws with 55 tics left to give EC
its first double-digit lead of the afternoon, making it 65-54.
Benevenuto would add another free throw with 38 seconds left before
Moore went to the line one more time, converting one of two to make
it 66-55 with 22 seconds remaining. Young would connect on a jumper
for the Monks final bucket before junior guard Chenae
Earle(South Orange, N.J.) capped the championships scoring for
EC with a pair of free throws to give the Saints the 68-57 victory
and berth to the NCAA tournament.

In the first half of play, Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early
11-6 lead following a pair of free throws from Grigware at the
15:10 mark. O'Dwyer made sure to keep the Saints within striking
distance, sinking a pair of jumpers to pull the hosts to within one
at 11-10 with 13:55 left in the opening stanza.

The Monks continued to control the action early as senior
forward Megan McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) was on fire early,
connecting on a pair of threes including a trifecta at the 10:55
mark to give St. Joes an 18-14 edge.

The Saints would fight back to tie the game at 20-20 as senior
guard Breanna
Ockimey(Philadelphia, Pa.) evened the score with a jumper with
just under nine minutes to play in the opening stanza. The squads
would trade buckets to keep the score locked at 22-all before the
visitors went on a quick 4-0 spurt on back-to-back jumpers by Young
to take a 26-22 lead with 6:21 left in the half. Over the next two
minutes of action, Kirwan would convert two old fashioned three
point plays with the ladder tying the contest at 28-28 with 4:27
remaining in the first.

With 1:19 to play in the first half, Ockimey nailed one of two
from the charity stripe to give the Saints their largest lead of
the half at 34-30 but a pair of fouls by EC would allow for Young
and Grigware to go to the line for a two shots in the bonus and
even the score at 34-34 before the first half buzzer, setting the
tone for the Saints second half fireworks.

Along with her 24 points, O'Dwyer finished the afternoon with a
game-high 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season
while Kirwan added nine board and a game-high eight assists. Negri
chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds coming off the
bench.

For Saint Joseph's, Young led the way with 11 points and nine
rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. Moore and McDevitt each
added 10 points while Geel ended the contest with eight points and
a team-high five helpers.

This was the first-ever appearance for the Monks in the GNAC
championship while the Saints were making their 15th trip to the
conference finals. Emmanuel has now earned the GNAC automatic
qualifier to the NCAA tournament in 11 of the last 12 seasons and
will now have to wait for Monday's selection show to find out their
opponent and where they will be seeded. Saint Joseph's will have to
wait for an at large bid to the NCAA tourney as they did not
declare for this year's ECAC New England Championships.